The instant invention relates to apparatus for stopping and aligning envelopes, and more particularly to apparatus for stopping and aligning envelopes prior to their being turned by an envelope turner.
Turning devices for flat articles that are conveyed horizontally are required in mail processing machines. Examples of flat articles include envelopes, letters, postcards, endless forms issued by a computer controlled printing device that are cut into sheets from an endless web, and the like. In an inserter and mail processing machine, sheets are fed, one by one or collected together, to a folding station and subsequently, with or without additional enclosures, are conveyed to an inserting station where the sheets are inserted into an envelope.
After insertion of the sheets into the envelope, the stuffed envelope is forwarded to a postage station where postage is imprinted thereon by a postage meter. In certain inserters, it is necessary to turn the stuffed envelopes through a 90 degree angle if the postage meter is oriented in the same direction as the discharge from the inserting station. Many types of turners are known in the prior art to effect a 90 degree turn. Many, however, turn the envelope on an edge which risks damage to the envelope and is more time consuming because a greater radius of turn is required than for a turn on the center of gravity of the envelope. Thus, apparatus was developed for turning flat articles such as envelopes on their centers of gravity through 90 degrees and removing them from the turning mechanism more quickly and efficiently than prior art devices.
An example of an envelope turner which turns envelopes on their centers of gravity can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,807 issued to the assignee of the instant invention. In such a turner, it is necessary to stop and align the envelope prior to turning the envelope. A stopping mechanism is employed which is moved into the path of travel of the envelope. After the envelope is stopped and aligned, the stopping mechanism is moved out of the path of travel so that the envelope can be further moved and turned.
Envelope turners can be used in large, console systems, or in small, table-top operations. In the case of table-top operations, in which the inserting apparatus is considerably smaller than that used in console systems, it is necessary to employ an envelope turner which is likewise compact. In order to have a compact envelope turner, it is necessary to have a stopping and aligning mechanism which can fit within the housing of the small envelope turner, and yet still be capable of being moved upstream or downstream in order to accommodate envelopes of varying size.
Accordingly, the instant invention provides a translatable stopping and aligning device for envelopes of various sizes which requires a minimum amount of space and power, and thus is ideally suited for use with a table-top envelope turner, although it may be used in any environment in which a small registration device is required.